How Final Fantasy XIV's best quote elevated the MMO to new heights

And defied one of fantasy's most restrictive tropes It's impossible to play a 10-year-old game and be online without spoilers, so I thought I knew what to expect about Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward's big death long before I experienced it. It would be sad, I thought, but surely not as meaningful as folks made it out to be. After all, character deaths aren't a big deal for me in most stories. I often find them annoying — shallow emotional ploys that work too hard to make you feel A Thing without providing much reason for why you should feel it. A single death couldn’t elevate Final Fantasy XIV’s story that much, right? How wrong I was. [Ed note: This piece contains spoilers for the finale of FFXIV: Heavensward.] In an emotional scene, Haurchefant Greystone dies in a heroic moment of sacrifice that still sticks with me. His final words are "a smile better suits a hero," a line that made our list of the 100 greatest video game quotes. That parting sequence is as big of a deal as everyone said it was and not just for Heavensward. It's the moment where FFXIV finally comes into its own. It's hard to say FFXIV has much of a vision before this point. A Realm Reborn, the game's rebirth fol

Apr 15, 2026 → Apr 15, 2026